West Elsdon, one of the 77 official community areas, is located on the southwest side of the City of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. It is noted as a twin neighborhood of West Lawn. It has a population which includes a mix of dwindling

Polish-American Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Poles, Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing abou ...

residents and increasing

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

residents who currently constitute a clear majority. It has its own association, "West Elsdon Civic Association," which privately organizes the neighborhood.

St. Turibius Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo (16 November 1538 – 23 March 1606) was a Spanish prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the Archbishop of Lima from 1579 until his death. He first studied in the humanities and law before serving as a profess ...

grade school, a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

elementary school, located at 57th and Karlov, closed in 2013 and is currently inactive though the building remains and is adjacent to

church. The former Lourdes

girls' high school located from 55th to 56th street from Komensky to Karlov Avenue is now a Chicago Public Schools magnet high school, John Hancock High School.

History

Before the early 20th century, the area now designated West Elsdon was a marshy remnant of an ancient lake. The early settlers were

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

s and

Irish-American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

s. During the 1930s, housing was built and

s and other Central Europeans settled the area. The land remained rural until

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when growth resumed and brick houses were built. After World War II, West Elsdon was the site of the

Airport Homes race riots The Airport Homes race riots were a series of riots in 1946 in the West Lawn and West Elsdon neighborhoods of Chicago, Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago ...

, the worst episode of racial inspired violence that the city faced in some thirty years. The West Elsdon Civic Association became one of the first vocal political enemies of the CHA and its first executive secretary, Elizabeth Wood. Opposition to public housing remained strong in the area. In the early 1970s the West Elsdon Civic Association was an active participant in the "No-CHA" citywide coalition opposing scattered-site public housing in predominantly middle-class white neighborhoods. Later,

Mexican-Americans Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican ...

settled in the eastern part of the community. Soon public schools were registering more

Hispanic-American Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...

s, and the CTA Orange Line was built to connect

Midway Airport Chicago Midway International Airport , typically referred to as Midway Airport, Chicago Midway, or simply Midway, is a major commercial airport on the Southwest side of Chicago, Illinois, located approximately 12 miles (19 km) from the Lo ...

to Downtown.

Politics

The West Elsdon community has supported the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in the past two presidential elections by large margins. In the 2016 presidential election, West Elsdon cast 3,910 votes for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

and cast 685 votes for

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...

(82.18% to 14.40%). In the

2012 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *3–4 January: E ...

, West Elsdon cast 3,015 votes for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and cast 736 votes for

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

(79.45% to 19.39%).

Notable people

Anne M. Burke Anne Marie Burke (née McGlone; born February 3, 1944) is an American jurist who served on the Illinois Supreme Court from 2006 until 2022. She served a term as the chief justice from 2019 until 2022. Burke had previously been appointed to the Il ...

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from the five ap ...

Justice and wife of Alderman Ed Burke. * Daniel J. Burke, Democratic member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

since 1991. He is a West Elsdon resident and alderman Ed Burke's brother. * Ed Burke, longtime 14th ward alderman representing West Elsdon and the surrounding area on the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...

. He is the husband of Justice Anne Burke. *

Jenny McCarthy Jennifer McCarthy Wahlberg (' Jennifer Ann McCarthy; born November 1, 1972) is an American actress, model, and television personality. She began her career in 1993 as a nude model for ''Playboy'' magazine and was later named their Playmate of ...

, actress,

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

model and anti-vaccine activist. She was raised in West Elsdon. * Joanne McCarthy, professional athlete who played for the

Chicago Condors The Chicago Condors were a very short-lived member of the American Basketball League (ABL). Their hometown was much larger than usual for the ABL, which mainly targeted mid-market cities, and initial team merchandising was successful. The team a ...

of the American Basketball League during the 1998 season. Jenny McCarthy's sister, she was also raised in West Elsdon.

References

Encyclopedia of Chicago "West Elsdon"

External links

Official City of Chicago West Elsdon Community Map
{{Geographic Location 2 , Center = West Elsdon, Chicago , North =

Archer Heights, Chicago Archer Heights is a community area in Chicago, Illinois, one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago. Archer Avenue runs from south of Chicago's downtown area, through the southwest side of Chicago and beyond into the southwest suburbs, ...

, Northeast =

Brighton Park, Chicago Brighton Park is a community area located on the southwest side of Chicago, Illinois. It is number 58 of the 77 community areas of Chicago. Brighton Park is bordered on the north by the former Illinois & Michigan Canal and the current Chicago ...

, East =

Gage Park, Chicago Gage Park is one of Chicago's 77 well-defined community areas, located on the city's southwest side; it is also the name of a park within the neighborhood. Gage Park's population is largely working-class, and its housing stock is mostly bungal ...

, Southeast =

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, South =

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, Southwest =

Clearing, Chicago Clearing, one of the 77 semi-official community areas, is located on the southwest side of the city of Chicago, Illinois. The southern portion of Chicago Midway International Airport is located within this community area. History The history ...

, WNW =

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Community areas of Chicago South Side, Chicago